Rabbani all set to defend 18th Amend in SC

ISLAMABAD Though Advisor to Prime Minister and Chairman Implementation Committee on 18th Amendment Senator Mian Raza Rabbani did not back the Governments viewpoint regarding objection on inclusion of the Chief Justice of Pakistan in larger bench taking up the 18th Amendment today (Monday), he was all set to defend the Amendment in the apex court. Sources in the Government informed that Chairman Implementation Committee on 18th Constitutional Amendment, Senator Mian Raza Rabbani did not back the objection raised by the lawyer representing the Federation wherein the Government had challenged the inclusion of Chief Justice of Pakistan in the larger bench. The sources said that he, in this connection, had held a detailed meeting with the Prime Minister and other concerned persons in the Government that instead of raising the flimsy objections, the Government should forcefully defend the 18th Amendment in the apex court. It should prove it point of view with strong and valid arguments. The sources further informed that Rabbani had taken this stance in consultation with most of the members of the defunct Constitutional Reforms Committee of the Parliament and he would defend the amendments done in the Constitution under the 18th Amendment in the court with the support of them. The sources further said that Rabbani, in consultation with the members of the Committee, would draw the course of action in the apex court. During the initial couple of sessions with the members held in the recent past, it was the consensus view of the members that the amendments introduced in the Constitution in no way had disturbed the basis fundamentals of the Constitution. The sources further informed TheNation that as Rabbani was also summoned by the apex court in his capacity as Chairman of the Constitutional Reforms Committee of the Parliament, the architect of the 18th Amendment, he would appear before the court and would try to address the concerns of the apex court regarding some of the amendments. The major objections raised in over a dozen petitions filed against 18th Constitutional Amendment with the apex court were pertaining to the appointment mechanism in the superior judiciary and the renaming of NWFP. In the petitions challenging the appointment criteria in the superior judiciary, it was stated that under the new mechanism, the independence of the judiciary could suffer, as the Government through the Parliamentary Committee would oversee the working of the Judicial Commission and could influence the whole process of appointment of judges. In the petitions challenging the renaming of NWFP, it was stated that it was against the basic human rights enshrined in the Constitution, as while renaming the province a large segment of society was kept out of the consultative process, which resulted in the outburst of agitation against the renaming.